Analysis of the Characteristics of Cross-Regional Patient Groups and Differences in Hospital Service Utilization in Beijing

Abstract

When medical diagnostic difficulties occur at local hospitals, seeking high-quality services across regions becomes a priority for many patients. Traditional statistical methods in health care are unable to account for spatial characteristics such as outflow place or distributions of disease type and patient ages in the context of an increasing number of cross-regional groups; thus, these methods are incapable of studying service utilization differences among hospitals. From a geographic perspective, we analyzed the spatial characteristics of cross-regional patient groups who travelled from other places to Beijing and the spatial decay patterns in the actual service utilization of different hospitals in Beijing by using geographic calculations, geographic visualizations, and distance decay functions. We found the following results: (1) It is feasible to study patients’ cross-regional mobility from a geographical perspective. Through interdisciplinary integration, we can explore laws and conclusions that cannot be examined by traditional statistical methods in health care. (2) The characteristics of cross-regional patients who travelled from other places to Beijing were as follows: (a) Most patients came from northern China, and neoplasm treatment was the main demand of cross-regional patients; (b) patients 40–65 years old were the main cross-regional treatment group, and the average age of patients from northern regions and certain eastern coastal cities was relatively high. (3) The exponential distance decay function was the best of all five distance decay functions in fitting the distribution of cross-regional patient mobility to hospitals of different levels, types, and functional areas. The results of applying this function and the centrality calculation method showed that hospital service utilization was least affected by distance and that average radial distances (AR) were greatest in tertiary hospitals (distance decay coefficient β = 0.0786, AR = 664.70 km), traditional Chinese medicine hospitals (β = 0.0752, AR = 743.52 km), and hospitals in urban extension areas (β = 0.0782, AR = 693.29 km). Our results can serve as a reference for research concerning the allocation of medical resources and patients’ choices regarding medical treatment.

Policy to expand hospital utilization in disadvantaged areas in Indonesia: who should be the target?

“…Travel time is related to distance and mobility. A study conducted in Florida and Beijing showed that the distance to the nearest hospital affects the utilization of hospital services; however, the effect is small [ 26 – 28 ]. A study conducted in India found that more comprehensive and reasonable care is found in facilities with a higher level of health care, such as in-district or provincial hospitals, in contrast to lower-level healthcare facilities in the regions, which affects patients’ mobility [ 29 ].…”

Temporal trends of sepsis-related mortality in China, 2006–2020: a population-based study

“…Increasing mortality with rising SDI in Tibet might be explained by decreasing rate of underreporting of death [ 36 , 37 ]. On the other end, patients with complicated or severe illnesses from low or middle SDI provinces seek healthcare in high SDI provinces (e.g., Beijing and Shanghai) [ 38 – 40 ]. An analysis revealed that 0.6 million inpatients, who accounted for 20% of total hospitalizations, travelled across the country to Beijing in 2015 [ 38 ].…”

“…On the other end, patients with complicated or severe illnesses from low or middle SDI provinces seek healthcare in high SDI provinces (e.g., Beijing and Shanghai) [ 38 – 40 ]. An analysis revealed that 0.6 million inpatients, who accounted for 20% of total hospitalizations, travelled across the country to Beijing in 2015 [ 38 ]. Although the NMSS did not achieve recognition of cross-regional decedents, the phenomenon might have influence on sepsis-related mortality in high SDI provinces.…”

Identifying the Drivers of Inter-Regional Patients’ Mobility: An Analysis on Hospital Beds Endowment

“…The healthcare services for which patients are willing to travel range from fertility treatments to dental care and various types of surgery [3]. Consequently, the analysis of cross-border patients' mobility has lately become a hot topic for policy makers and researchers from different disciplines [4][5][6]. Even though the focus on international dynamics masks the fact that patient mobility often occurs within national borders, this is particularly evident in decentralized, tax-funded healthcare systems characterized by significant long stories of socio-economic disparities between regions, such as in Italy [4,7,8].…”